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Body Lab 3-5 / Week 05 / Body Lab Day
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Week 05 · Lungs and Breathing

Body Lab Day

Body Lab Day: Balloon Lungs
// Oxygen in, carbon dioxide out
⏱ about 15 min

Body Lab Day: Balloon Lungs

Rocket lines up a plastic bottle, two balloons and some tape. "Let's build a lung!" he says.

Raven reads the plan out loud. "What do you notice when we pull the bottom balloon?"

Nova hovers above the table. "Watch the balloon inside," she says. "Then think about Wednesday's muscle."

A grown-up gets the scissors ready. The family gathers around.

  1. Air travels from your nose or mouth, down the windpipe, into the lungs.
  2. In tiny air sacs, oxygen goes into the blood and carbon dioxide comes out.
  3. The diaphragm moves down to breathe in and up to breathe out.
  4. Your vocal cords vibrate to make your voice.
  5. Moving makes you breathe more often.
Safety first
A grown-up does all the cutting. The cut edge can be sharp.
Cover the cut edge with tape before anyone holds the bottle.
Balloon pieces are a choking risk. Keep them away from little children.
If anyone has a latex allergy, use a latex-free balloon.
Nothing goes in your mouth.
◇ BUILD A BALLOON LUNG
You need: a small clear plastic bottle, two balloons, tape and scissors for the grown-up.
A grown-up cuts the bottom off the bottle. Tape over the cut edge.
Push one balloon into the bottle neck. Stretch its opening over the bottle top.
A grown-up ties a knot in the second balloon and cuts off the round end.
Stretch that balloon over the open bottom of the bottle. Tape it tight.
Gently pull the knot on the bottom balloon down. Watch the balloon inside.
Gently push the knot back up. Watch again.
Take turns. Talk about what each part stands for.
Model partBody part
BottleChest
Balloon insideLung
Bottle neckWindpipe
Balloon on the bottomDiaphragm
BODY LAB CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
You pull the bottom balloon down. What does the balloon inside do?
The bottom balloon stands for which body part?
Pulling the bottom balloon down is like breathing ____.
Pushing it back up is like breathing ____.
For a grown-up
Ask: what is one way this model is like real lungs?
Ask: what is one way it is different? (Real people have two lungs and ribs that move.)

Brilliant building! Next week we follow food on its long trip through the digestive system.

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